In the making of filters for automobiles, for example, a roll of paper is obtained and passed through a pleating machine that puts the paper into pleats much like an accordion. The pleated paper has valleys and peaks. It is common practice to cut off the tip of the valleys, or knuckles, and a selected number of cut pleats are then packed to be used as a filter. In some prior devices the pleated paper is sprayed with a dot of paint to indicate the approximate location where the pack is to be cut. The dot of paint is not precise and may be accurate within only four or five pleats. The operator then manually pushes the paper pack through the slotted table one pleat at a time and manually actuates a device to shear the knuckle, or tip of the valley, off.